The present invention is drawn to a device for laminating labels. More specifically the present invention is a laminating device for precisely and accurately placing a protective film over an existing label that is on a liner material.
Many manufacturers of diverse products desire to include product and manufacturer information upon their products. One method of including such information with a product is to include a pamphlet or other literature with the product. However, literature is very often misplaced, damaged or destroyed, thereby resulting in the loss of all the information that the manufacturer wished to include with the product.
Another more permanent method of including information with a product is to engrave it upon a metal plate which would then be affixed to the product with mechanical fasteners or with an adhesive. The drawback to using metal plates to carry information is that the cost of the plates themselves, and engraving them, are relatively high.
An alternative to the use of included literature and engraved plates is the adhesive label. Adhesive labels can come in many sizes and shapes, in a variety of colors and patterns, and readily receive printing as from a laser printer, resin printing process, or a thermostatic printer. Adhesive labels also have the advantage of being very inexpensive.
Labels can also be designed for use in a wide range of environments. For example, adhesive labels are now being used in place of engraved metal plates as engine labels. An adhesive label designed for use as an engine label must withstand extreme heat without peeling or burning. An adhesive engine label must also be able to withstand water, oil, gasoline, and other chemicals or liquids without peeling. Finally, as the information on engine labels is sometimes critical, the labels must be tamper resistant, i.e. the labels must be difficult to remove and must indicate, by tearing or other damage, that they have been tampered with.
Adhesive labels that are to be used in a high speed manufacturing setting such as on an engine assembly line must also be capable of being mass produced. This need has been met by adhering continuous sheets of a suitable label material to a continuous sheets of releasable liner material and passing the resulting combination through a standard stacked die cutting system to form the unlaminated labels. The stacked die cutting system cuts tractor feed holes through each edge of the liner, cuts the outlines of the labels into the face of the label material, and forms perforations, security cuts, and printer registration holes through the liner material and label material. The stacked die cutting systems used to make the unlaminated labels also peel away the excess label material, leaving only labels of the desired size and shape disposed on the liner material.
Because adhesive labels are being increasingly used in applications where the materials commonly used in fabricating adhesive labels will not withstand the environmental conditions, it is important to tailor the structure and materials of the adhesive label according to the demands of the situation. In addition to, for example, fabricating labels from substrates and adhesives that are resistant to heat and oils, a clear laminate that is also resistant to heat and oils may be laid over an adhesive label. Such a laminate will prevent chemicals and even ultraviolet light from degrading the substrate of the label, the adhesive, or the printing on the label.
The present invention is a device for applying a laminate to an adhesive label. The laminating device of the present invention is capable of quickly, precisely, and accurately applying laminates over a large number of shapes and sizes of labels. The laminating device of the present invention is also capable of die cutting the laminate layer to be applied over the label so that the edges of the laminate and the label evenly offset around the entire perimeter of the label.
The present invention is a device for laminating labels which are typically disposed on a continuous strip of a liner material in a predetermined arrangement. The strip of liner material has parallel edges that are provided with a plurality of tractor feed holes arranged in registration with the predetermined arrangement of the labels disposed upon the liner material. The device for laminating the labels comprises a motor mechanism mounted between a first frame plate structure and a second frame plate structure so that the first and second frame plate structures are spatially oriented in a substantially parallel planar relation to one another. A label supply spindle structure and a, label take-up spindle structure are mounted upon the first frame plate structure with the label supply spindle structure being arranged to receive a roll of unlaminated labels and the label take-up spindle structure being arranged to receive a roll for winding up the labels once they have been laminated. The label supply and take-up spindle structures each have coupled thereto a clutch mechanism for driving the respective spindle structures. The clutch mechanisms coupled to the label supply and take-up spindle structures derives its motive power from the motor mechanism.
A laminate supply spindle structure, a laminate liner take-up spindle structure and a laminate waste take-up spindle structure are also mounted upon the first frame plate structure. The protective film and the laminate liner material also have tractor feed holes formed therein. The laminate supply spindle structure is arranged to receive a roll of a protective film disposed upon a continuous strip of a laminate liner material, the laminate liner take-up spindle structure is arranged to receive a roll for winding up the strip of laminate liner material after the protective film has been removed therefrom, and the laminate waste take-up spindle structure is arranged to receive a roll for winding up the protective film not used in laminating the labels. In addition, the laminate supply spindle structure, laminate liner take-up spindle structure, and laminate waste take-up spindle structure each have coupled thereto a respective clutch mechanism. The clutch mechanisms coupled to the laminate supply, laminate liner, and laminate waste take-up spindle structures derive motive power from the motor mechanism.
A laminating structure is also mounted between the first frame plate structure and the second frame plate structure, the laminating structure operating to apply the protective film to the labels in registration with the predetermined arrangement of the labels upon the liner material. The laminating structure is also powered by the motor mechanism via a plurality of clutch mechanisms.
The spindle structures and laminating structure are controlled by a control mechanism that controls the lamination of the labels.
The laminating structure itself comprises an inner laminate stripping drum and an outer laminate stripping drum. The inner and outer laminate stripping drums are slidingly disposed within a first pair of parallel slots formed between the first and second frame plate structures such that the inner and outer laminate stripping drums are in contact with one another. The inner and outer laminate stripping drums each have respective clutch mechanisms coupled thereto for driving the inner and outer laminate stripping drums. As with the spindle structures, the respective clutch mechanism of the inner and outer laminate stripping drums derive motive power from the motor mechanism.
The inner and outer laminate stripping drums cooperate to draw the strip of protective film from the roll received upon the laminate supply spindle structure. The protective film is separated from the liner material by the action of the inner and outer laminate stripping drums. The protective films conveyed by the inner laminate stripping drum into the laminating structure and the laminate liner material is conveyed by the outer laminate stripping drum to the roll received upon the laminate liner take-up spindle structure.
The protective film is received from the inner laminate stripping drum by a toothed drive wheel having a clutch mechanism coupled thereto. The clutch mechanism coupled to the toothed drive wheel derives its motive power from the motor mechanism. The toothed drive wheel is in close proximity to the inner laminate stripping drum such that the protective film may be transferred from the inner laminate stripping drum to the toothed drive wheel thereby becoming adhered to the liner material upon which the labels are disposed. The teeth of the drive wheel are arranged to engage the tractor feed holes formed in the protective film and the liner material upon which the labels are disposed.
A die-cutting drum is slidingly disposed within a second pair of parallel slots formed between the first and second frame plate structures. The die cutting drum is constrained to rotate in registration with the toothed drive wheel. The die-cutting drum has a plurality of blades disposed upon the surface thereof, the blades being arranged to cut only the protective film that is adhered to the liner material having the labels disposed thereon. The cuts in the protective film are in registration with the labels disposed upon the liner material and are offset a predetermined distance from the edge of the labels disposed upon the liner material. The protective film not covering the labels is separated from the liner material upon which the now laminated labels are disposed and is wound up upon the roll received upon the laminate waste take-up spindle structure. The die-cutting drum of the present invention is interchangeable with a plurality of die-cutting drums having blades arranged in a plurality of predetermined manners.
An inner label feed drum is slidingly disposed within a third pair of parallel slots formed between the first and second frame plate structures. The inner label feed drum has coupled thereto a clutch mechanism which derives motive power from the motor mechanism. The inner label feed drum is located immediately adjacent the toothed drive wheel so as to convey the liner material upon which the now laminated labels are disposed to the roll received upon the laminated label take-up spindle structure.
A first tensioning device is coupled to the inner and outer laminate stripping drums disposed within the first parallel slot formed between the first and second frame plate structures. A second tensioning device is coupled to the die-cutting drum disposed within the second parallel slot formed between the first and second frame plate structures. A third tensioning device is coupled to the inner label feed drum disposed within the third parallel slot formed between the first and second frame plates. Each of the three tensioning devices is capable of altering the tension placed upon the laminate liner material and the liner material upon which the labels are disposed by altering the linear location of the inner and outer laminate stripping drums, the die-cutting drum, and the inner label feed drum, respectively, within their respective parallel slots.